


Continued Symbiosis Studies

by rc_1903



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Jeff Winger Has Issues, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28670286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rc_1903/pseuds/rc_1903
Summary: Snippets of Annie and Jeff's life living together post-canon, after Annie returns from her FBI Internship.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13





	Continued Symbiosis Studies

**Author's Note:**

> Annie takes Jeff to her Climbing (specifically Bouldering) Centre and shows him the ropes, but ultimately the occasion just expands on their unreserved love for one another.  
> Sorry, I had the idea of Annie teaching Jeff how to climb and climbing etiquette but that expanded and turned into this HIGHLY FLUFFY mess of a few thousand words. Again, this is my first one, and some of it is alright with a lot more being a overdescriptive mess. I have so much more respect for ficwriters who weave complex stories over multiple chapters now!!

**(Saturday, early September 2015)**

**Five weeks into their relationship**

**-**

"Annie, you are not seriously suggesting I have to fit my - my wholly non meaty but still gigantic feet into these overly tight, uncomfortable shoes, right?" Jeff pleaded.

Annie retorted "Yes. You absolutely have to, Jeff: not only because they assist with grip on foot-holds but also because this establishment doesn't allow lavish overly _expensive_ shoes like what you _continually_ wear onto the mats. It's.. impractical and doesn't set a good first impression - we're trying to _de_ -escalate your ego here, Jeff - not crow to the other climbers in your usual, dressed to the nines fashion." By the end of Annie's lecture, Jeff was grinning wildly and Annie was trying hard not to give in and smile back at his boyish smirk.

"Oh come on, like you don't love my impeccable fashion sense." Jeff gesticulated with his hands down the length of his body to which Annie sighed emphatically but adoringly. Annie couldn't exactly say no to that so Jeff's question went unanswered.

"I'll take that silence as confirmation." He stated gleefully, and her nostrils flared sharply as she stared him down.

"I'm so beating your ass tomorrow when I practice my judo skills on you." Jeff had no clever response this time, and took the time to admire his girlfriend as she engaged with him in her highly competitive side, a side of her he loved to provoke almost as much as he loved her, as her fierce combat with him energised and invigorated them both equally and was oh so fun. Plus you could say it definitely turned him on, so there was that.

After returning from her internship, they both took the next step into their relationship and decided to try dating, and quickly revealed their true feelings for one another after dancing around those three words for 6 years. Since really deciding to become official they found themselves sharing more and more things with each other, building that level of trust and openness that only comes with years of friendship and of course companionship. Jeff was eager to support Annie by attending a bi-monthly NA support session with her a week into dating, soothingly holding her hand and keeping her cared for and close for the duration of the meeting; while Jeff on occasion confided in Annie about his fears and insecurities, to which Annie showed no level of pity, but a deep well of understanding and compassion, and as was her M.O., a list of solutions to work past/alleviate these feelings. As Frankie would call them, they were co-dependent, but absolutely not in a platonic way. Rather in way that only comes with unconditional love.

As part of spending nearly all of their time together, Jeff wanted to try out Bouldering (a variant of climbing with no ropes but with only roughly 14 foot high walls) with her, something which Annie casually remarked she had partaken in every Saturday for the last three years - to which Annie said she didn't think Jeff would want to chalk up and degrade his "perfectly calloused hands" (his words.), but quickly acquiesced. She had already agreed to show him her judo moves on the Sunday so she would be showing her boyfriend the ropes for the entire weekend, much to (both of their) delight.

They had arrived together at the Climbing Academy on a bitingly cold Saturday morning, swaddled in layers upon layers of protective fabric, early enough to miss the main crowds. 

"Jeff, we made sure to get you the shoes one size below your actual size, so I _think_ you should be set, unless a little more complaining is in order?" She asked Jeff pointedly as they sat down on the thick crash mat spanning the entire centre.

"Nah, I'm good" he responded. Annie slipped on her canary yellow owned shoes with ease, while Jeff squeezed on his worn midnight black ones with difficulty, really putting on a performance as he winced the entire time. They got up, stored their multitudes of warm clothes away in lockers, and warmed up. Stretching their limbs, shoulders/back and neck in preparation for what would be, in Annie's words, a gruelling first session: causing Jeff to make a comparison to their sex life and Annie to swat him repeatedly, albeit weakly, emitting laughter from them both by the end. After their warmup Jeff trailed Annie to an adjoining wall after she insisted they memorise the colour scheme of the holds.

"I bet you with my inhuman strength and height I'll easily - uhh, what was that one word summation of doing a climb first time that you told me earlier?"

".. flash?" Annie supplied.

"Yeah, I'll flash all of these suckers." Annie giggled at this statement, leading to one of Jeff's patented exasperation groans. "Not THAT flashing, although that would be a welcome gift to the other climbers here" he added with a bashful grin. She hoped to show him that above all technique, not a Greek-God-like body, is responsible for completing climbs, as well as putting yourself out there to complete difficult and compromising routes - eventually getting him to memorise the colour scheme and then striding towards the mat.

"First of all, I'm going start on some yellow climbs (the easiest) to really get the blood circulation going and to really work on initiating proper finger movement, you should do the same, ok? Don't wanna even slightly damage your meat hooks, Jeff, seeing as you take _oh so much_ pride in your appearance" she teased.

"Yes, alright, mom." Annie rolled her eyes and got to work on a couple of routes while Jeff followed her advice. He watched Annie as she finished her relatively difficult beginner climbs and moved on to a climb requiring a skillset possessed only by the most proficient (or most passionate) **:** a 5.12a climb featuring a complex dyno move. She did some body contortions and twists to prepare as she thought about her movements and then completed the climb in seemingly no time at all, leaping from hand-hold to hand-hold with ease, while Jeff looked on in awe.

Having seen this he immediately tried his luck with an advanced colour. Annie sauntered over, needing some time to recover, and spotted him most of the way up, struggling to hold on to the crimp holds (she could barely support her weight from them even after four years so she couldn't imagine what it was like for a giant 6'4 newcomer). "JEFF!!" She laughed at his predicament amiably until she became aware of the fact he didn't want to let go. "Aww, Jeff! It's ok, it's ok, the crash mat is like 3 feet thick so it will support you easily if you fall! It'll support anyone, even someone of your large stature!" she relinquished back to teasing, figuring it could be comforting seeing as humour was his method of evasion in less-than-comfortable situations. Jeff looked over his shaking shoulder to see Annie's calm and reassuring smile reflected back at his panicked and perturbed face and felt his fears subside. He allowed himself to drop back, realising he wasn't even that far off the ground but rather had his height work to a disadvantage as he thought he was higher than he was, and then found himself enveloped in a tight, protective hug, effectively dispelling all his anxiety as he reciprocated his affection to the tiny, amazing human in front of him. She ran circles with her hands soothingly (she hoped) on the wide expanse of his back as they swayed together, although she felt it was having the desired effect as she found his body relax and slump further into her. "You're ok now, baby" she soothed as she wrapped tighter around his torso, wanting - no, needing - to alleviate his tension and comfort the incredible human in front of her to the absolute best of her ability. She felt him shudder vehemently but rapidly, and the tension she felt in him lifted as she felt him laugh, the vibration rippling through her, sending huge waves of relief to her very being.

"I guess I look pretty stupid, huh. Serves me right for letting my ego take the reins and attempting an advanced climb" he ended, his voice light but with a withered, scornful undertone that usually accompanied his self-deprecating moods.

" _Jeffff_ , you absolutely did not look stupid! It's perfectly normal to feel that way on a first climb, I certainly did but you do it more and more and you put the work in and it's barely a consideration, trust me. If anything, it's more honourable that you jumped down after my reassurance instead of staying up there like a - cat in a tree."

"Yeah, I mean it's your assurance we're talking about here Annie, of course I'm going to feel more safe and content after that-" Annie "aww"ed at that "-it's just I have to take into account... my age-" to which Annie sighed quietly at the mention of Jeff's number one illicit, taboo topic making its return "-and condition, which could potentially hinder my recovery if I took a nasty fall or damaged the money-maker, God forbid, not to mention on a teacher's salary at the world's most inept Community College there is no way I could afford to pay for an extended recovery in hospital, especially after the damage to the health sector the recent economic downturn has caused-" Annie recognised Jeff's spiralling and desperately wanted to see his smile again so she lunged at his face and kissed him ferociously, stopping the stream of self-doubt and economic disparagements there. As they separated after a few seconds (for fear of excessive PDA), Annie saw Jeff's smile return and felt it was the right time to assuage his fears.

"First off, I'm not even going to go that far into this but you barely pay attention to that side of the news anyway and I can assure you that you made the economic downturn stuff all up just to provide some weight to your argument. Second of all, your "condition"? I don't usually make explicit remarks about your body for fear of hypercharging your ego-" Jeff grinned at the memory of all the instances throughout the years where Annie has gawked at Jeff's physique "-but like your Lexus you are in mint condition and I'm sure you can withstand anything a climbing centre can throw at you. Lastly, but most importantly, your _age?-_ is ultimately just a small feature of yours, Jeff! It doesn't hold a candle to the astounding and loving man you are! Underneath your perfect exterior, you possess a gentle and caring soul, and every day I'm reminded of how lucky I am to have known you for 6 years and for having loved you for all of them. I love you so much, always. I love you unequivocally for you." She finished, her emotive, ardent eyes drilling deep into his aforementioned soul.

By the end Jeff was rendered speechless, his thoughts carried by the gravity of Annie's Winger speech (except it wasn't that as it really meant something and had substance to it) and the deepening of his love for her, at the thought he could become a man unburdened as a result of some reassurance from Annie, and at the self-actualisation of how he would gladly spent the rest of his life with her if he could. He needed to express all of that, but that wasn't really his thing. Instead he croaked out "I love you too Annie. Thank you for saying that, and for having my back. Your support and love keeps me going. Always," and hoped that would be enough. After Annie's resultant gleam in her eyes and wide smile, he smiled back even wider and managed to collect his thoughts enough to suggest they march on after their public heart to heart, Annie agreeing too, recommending in a faux serious tone they direly needed a respite after such a serious and macabre talk, causing Jeff to burst out laughing, calling her a wordsmith. By this point Annie was completely content and relieved at the sight of Jeff's gorgeous, happy smile and the knowledge that she caused it.

They returned to the walls, Annie keeping a closer eye on Jeff after the events of a few minutes prior. They blitzed around the floor, slowing ramping up the difficulty of routes, with Jeff becoming even more impressed (if that were possible) with Annie for her method of doing climbs - look scrupulously at the route, pre-planning the movements and then covering the distance with ease. For such a small human, he found she really knew her way around the holds and wondered if her compact size worked to her advantage especially when faced with the daunting "start-sitting-on-your-butt-with-your-legs-on-tiny-footholds" type climbs which for him meant forcing himself into increasingly uncomfortable positions whereas she was able to fit into place like Lego. Jeff watched Annie rocket up the steep surface, her dainty fingers and lower weight allowing the fastest possible times, even with proper technique. 

"You really just.. fly gracefully up there, huh? That's pretty damn amazing, babe." Annie blushed not only at Jeff's continued appraisal, but also at his pet name for her making the rounds. "I try and fit onto these miniscule footholds to start like you can, and it almost always results in me slipping off. Am I doing something wrong?" he enquired inquisitively.

"Well, my feet aren't big and cumbersome, so there's a good enough reason," she snorted, somehow attractively, Jeff thought. "... but maybe you should try chalking up your hands; I've been doing it like every two minutes -it drastically improves grip and helps tremendously!" Jeff grinned at Annie's fervent passion for everything she took part in; he had always found it was the thing he admired and loved the most about her, which was a difficult thing to pin down as so much of what made Annie Annie was beautiful and adorable and intense, just like her ever-present passion; after all she had so many attributes he was fond of.

"Gimme." Jeff grabbed it as a response to her teasing and walked briskly off with it, chalking his hands up as he marched on and Annie jogged to keep up the pace.

"JEFFFFF...!!!"

He flashed back his adorable but insufferable smirk and then scaled the wall using some outcropping rounded holds, and stepped on a green one which vaguely could resemble potentially Shrek's dick, neared the top and fastening her chalk bag around a finishing hold, touched it with both hands like Annie had showed him, much to her amusement, and then took a quick look down and pushed off the wall, landing with a sound that could only accompany an excessively large giant on a crash mat. Annie was so pleased he was more at peace with the idea of jumping down and after delivering some hard-hitting swats to Jeff's torso, hugged and kissed him, which Jeff easily reciprocated.

However, breaking apart from the kiss, Jeff took note of Annie's secret weapon, her tool that could make Jeff crumble in front of her widening, shimmering cerulean orbs. "Oh god, not the Disney eyes." Annie smiled slightly, knowing full well the effect she was witnessing/causing. "Uhh. Fine." He turned around to climb the wall again to retrieve Annie's bag, muttering along the lines of "must be a masochist... meant to be selfish... changed man". She was overjoyed at the prospect of having, along with 5 loveable misfits, altered Jeff slightly by bringing out and encouraging the most caring and unburdened side of him into the spotlight through the years. The side that Annie had seen more and more of since really starting a life together (and the prospect of _that_ didn't worry her whatsoever, she was cognizant of the _fact_ that she would gladly spend her life with Jeff) and which came to the forefront in his most vulnerable and open moments. She lost her train of thought as Jeff landed heavily next to her, having just jumped from the top. 

"Hey babe, fancy seeing you here." He called out huskily. It did and didn't have the desired effect as Annie rolled her eyes but felt her heartrate pick up, and after having done nothing but lazily jog after Jeff for 3 minutes, evidence pointed to Jeff and his deep, strong voice as being the culprit for this increase.

"Oh shut it Jeffy."

"There's no way you just "Jeffy'd" me."

"That's where you're wrong, mister."

"I can't really do the same to your name; though I could call you Ann but then that'd remind me of my geriatric Aunt so that's unquestionably a no." They laughed and he grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Shall we resume our wall-scaling, Spidermannie?"

"Never do that again, _Jeffy_. Or else this name's stickin' for a month."

"What if I... don't completely mind Jeffy? It's kinda cute. And endearing."

"Well, then let me think of another substitute punishment." At this point the two of them were in near fits of laughter and were attracting attention. "Hey, um- why don't we go to another area with less privacy-breaching, judgemental climbers?" She said in a hushed tone.

"Your wish is my command, milady. Also you don't have to ask, you've just gotta just walk off and I'll follow, unless you look really pissed in which case I would _definitely_ keep a safe distance."

"We're not in a pandemic, Jeff. And if I look pissed off, don't be wary of approaching me! With you around I always feel better and if it _was_ caused by you, we can hash it out with communication and trust. Come on, let's go."

She strode off this time, leaving Jeff in her wake, wondering how on earth he managed to find himself someone like Annie Edison. 

* * *

* * *

"Ok, so here's what you've gotta do, mister. Study the route, working out how you're going to start down there-" she gestured to the red-marked holds "- and then concentrate on the steps you're going to take to reach the top. Then, once you're ready, I have 100% faith you'll flash this, ok? You've got this!" Annie snuggled up to Jeff's torso, giving him a tight side hug. After releasing him from her iron grip, she moved away, letting Jeff take the metaphorical reins of the wall.

Having approached the wall, Jeff flopped down on his butt and shimmied up, and upon enveloping the holds within his sizeable, hefty hands (which were proving to be as much as a hinderance as his feet and general build) and covering a particularly irksome foot hold with his left foot (as suggested by Annie so that he could flag his right foot parallel to the wall), he set off. Having initially grabbed hold of a protruding black hold with his right and moving his body up with his left on a comfortable albeit smooth hold, he was in a much better position to continue, no longer being so cramped and with a little bit more breathing room to march (or climb) on. He swapped feet to avoid barn-gating and pushed up using his newfound situation to his advantage. His hands stung but he persevered, knowing that incurring no damage to the meat hooks was wishful thinking.

He remarked on the fact that after his embarrassing wall fiasco and his inability to start this climb earlier, he had abandoned hope - something he did when he didn't excel at something immediately (pottery, coming up with grifting plans, his attempt at being nice after talking with Rich 4 years prior) but having heard Annie's helpful tips and words of encouragement, he felt empowered, capable, competent and the climb seemed feasible. Most definitely not for the first time he deliberated on Annie's year-on-year impact on his life and how she drastically improved not only that but also him as a person - how, despite her tumultuous upbringing and past addiction, she fought tooth and nail for what she believed in and showed continued faith in everyone and everything around her and that made him aspire to be a better man - all the times he fell down and felt low, she had been there for him and picked him up.

Her cheering brought Jeff back to the present as he realised he unknowingly had made it to the top. With both hands on the finishing hold, he too gave an elated shout and dropped down, covering Annie with his arms and holding her tight against him. He wasn't a cuddler before Annie, but look what happened in her presence? Now he couldn't imagine not hugging her. 

"You did that, Annie. I never would've been able to go on without you." 

"Are you talking about the amazing feat of strength you just demonstrated, or the extenuating circumstances surrounding me leaving for the FBI?"

"How does both sound?"

Annie responded by looking up from being pressed into Jeff's chest and giving him a megawatt smile. Jeff in turn responded by smiling back and leaning down to cover her smile with his, something he could do all the time now they were together, he cerebrated - making him the world's luckiest man.

"My beautiful empress."

"My neurotic strongman."


End file.
